Jo Elfving-Hwang is an Associate Professor of Korean Studies, Deputy Head of School of Social Sciences and the Discipline Chair of Asian Studies. Previous to her current appointment she was Junior Professor of Korean Culture and Society and Director of Korean Studies at Frankfurt University (Goethe Universitat Frankfurt am Main). Jo has also previously taught Korean literature at the School of East Asian Studies (the University of Sheffield), and was a Korea Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies (University of Leeds). She also has an interest in developing teaching and learning practices in the Higher Education system, and has worked as an academic developer and researcher at Sheffield Hallam University's Centre for Excellence for Teaching And Learning, with a specific interest in Learner Autonomy.

Jo's current research projects focus on cosmetic surgery practices in South Korea; cultural and social aspects of ageing and the body in South Korea, as well as perceptions of beauty and appearance among Asian Australians. Previously, Jo has worked on Korean women's literature, North Korean literature, as well as trauma, disaster narratives and national identity in South Korean cinema and literature.

Key research

My current research focuses on cosmetic surgery practices in South Korea, and in particular how the ageing bodies are positioned within a highly appearance-conscious society. My recent Academy of Korean Studies funded project titled "Elderly Korean Women's Somatic Subjectivities and Technologies of Self in an Image-Conscious Society" focuses on elderly Korean women's cosmetic surgery and beauty practices.

Elfving-Hwang, Joanna and Ruth Holliday (2012), 'Gender, Globalization and Aesthetic Surgery in South Korea', Body and Society 18(2), 58-81, doi: 10.1177/1357034X12440828, http://bod.sagepub.com/content/18/2/58.short?rss=1&ssource=mfr Nominated as an article of ‘Key Importance to the Field of Sociology’ in 2014 (www.sociologyresearch.org)

Korean Studies Association for Australasia (KSAA), Treasurer
Secretary for Research (Europe), The International Association of Comparative Korean Studies (Seoul, South Korea)
Research Associate, White Rose East Asia Centre, UK
Korea Research Hub Associate, The University of Leeds and the University of Sheffield
Co-Chief Investigator, Korea's ODA in Africa, AFRASO (African Asian Options), Frankfurt University